5 Tips for Winning More Listings with Your Property Data Tool

Looking for an edge to beat out the competition for listings? Look no further than your property data tool. From generating CMAs to helping you overcome seller objections, this tool can help you impress prospects and win more listings.

But how? To find out, we turned to an expert. Nikki Morgan of CRS Data has spent years training agents on how to leverage public records.

"The best thing agents can do is to come to the table with the information that your property data solution can arm you with," says Morgan. "Not just words, but the facts."

Here are five ways agents can tap into their property data solution to impress sellers and win more business:

1. Educate yourself so you can educate your client.

Ever heard this objection from a seller?

"At our last party, my neighbor said she sold her house for $XXX,XXX. Why are you pricing my home below hers?"

Having a well-informed answer can mean the difference between winning the listing and leaving the homeowner unimpressed.

"You want to be able to respond to the question and have a good, educated reason why you suggested that price," says Morgan. "Use your property data tool to educate yourself on the home and neighborhood so that you can answer any questions. You can come out the winner on top if you've got all the information and you've done your research."

2. Point out ways to improve a home's value

Turn to your property data tool when a seller wants to know which improvements will make their home more saleable.

For example, maybe fixing an older roof would increase the home's value. To find out, Morgan instructs agents to use CRS Data's 'Refined Values' tool. She suggests that Realtors:

• Compare the home's value with and without the roof improvements.
• Run a Cost vs. Value comparison to determine whether repairing the roof will make the house sell more quickly or for more money.

3. Fix outdated property information

No matter how accurate your property data system is, sometimes property tax records are simply outdated at the county level.

So if the property information that you pulled into your CMA is missing a recent bedroom addition, for example, you can use your tax system's Refined Values tool to factor that new bedroom into the home's value.

4. Pull bad comparables to combat pricing objections

Morgan shared a clever way to stop pricing objections before they start: by pulling bad comparables.

Maybe a seller is likely to compare his home's value to a neighbor's because they seem similar on paper, but he doesn't realize there are actually significant differences.

That's why that, in addition to a CMA, Morgan suggests agents print out a list of properties that aren't good comparables and take it with them on their listing presentation.

"You can go through that list at the appointment and sit down to discuss the reasons why you excluded certain homes when choosing comparables," says Morgan. "Show that their neighbor's lot is actually a double lot, or that they have an extra bedroom you can't see from the street."

In essence, you're not only providing helpful clarity, you're also telling clients, "I want to show you the research that I did." This highlights how well prepared you are and helps you stand out from competing Realtors.

5. The key to customizing comparables

Every agent wants to choose the most accurate comps for their reports. This can be achieved by customizing comparables.

"Agents should make sure that they are comparing improvement types, land views, as well as whether or not it's a residential property," says Morgan. "Compare residential to residential. Beyond that, all areas are different."

She also suggests taking school districts into account and other things you know about your community.

"There are just so many variables," Morgan says. "I think it just goes right back to agents trusting what they know about the area so that they can insert it into that comparable analysis."

Bonus: Remember, your expertise is the most important thing

Speaking of trusting what you know, Morgan has one last bit of advice for agents:

"Understand that a platform like CRS Data is only a tool and it doesn't work without their knowledge. The key is in agents taking what they know and applying it."

Learn more about CRS Data here: CRSData.com